John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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479. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the special education teaching allocation for students who are blind or vision-impaired has been removed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14550/24]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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480. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the special education teaching allocation for students who are blind or vision-impaired has been removed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14551/24]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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481. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if impact studies have been carried out to determine the effect on students of the decision to reduce special education teaching allocation hours for schools by 30% for students who are blind or vision-impaired; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14552/24]

John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein)
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482. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if impact studies have been carried out to determine the effect on students of the decision to reduce special education teaching allocation hours for schools by 30% for students who are blind or vision-impaired; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14553/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 479 to 482, inclusive, together.

I want to thank the Deputy for raising this issue.

At the outset I would like to confirm that there is no change in the provision of supports my departments provides to children who are blind or visually impaired.

The Special Education teaching allocation model for 2024/25 distributes the total available number of SET posts in line with each school’s profile of need.

It seeks to distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner, taking into account quality, robust evidence in respect of individual schools.

This ensures that resources are in the right place at the right time to meet the needs of children in mainstream.

There will more Special Education Teachers in our schools in September 2024 than ever before – an increase of 1,000 from 2020/21 school year. This is in addition to a significant reduction in class teachers sizes at primary level over three budgets to where our Pupil to Teacher Ratio at primary level is now 23:1.

This means, more than ever, children with SEN in our mainstream schools are best supported to meet their needs.

In addition the model will now be run annually in line with general teacher allocations. This allows schools to better plan their staffing structures and gives them time to arrange clusters in areas where schools share an SET teacher.

There has been a limited change to the method used to allocate SET to mainstream classes. This review involved extensive consultation and visits to schools by the NCSE to look at the strengths and shortcomings of the allocation model. The feedback has been incorporated into the revised model for 2024/25.

The review of the SET model focused on ensuring that we had the best possible data available to inform the distribution of resources to our schools.

Our policy relating to supporting all of our children ( including those who are blind or vision impaired) in our schools based on their level of need remains unchanged.

The policy that individual schools are required to adhere to is the principle that the allocation is utilised to ensure that those pupils with the greatest level of need receive the greatest level of support and this remains unchanged.

In addition, under my Departments Assistive Technology scheme, over 600 children benefitted from specialised equipment for the visually and hearing impaired last year.

Equipment provided under the Assistive Technology scheme to assist children with visual impairment included Braille Equipment/Braille Keyboards/ CCTV Equipment with Distance Camera, computer equipment for enhanced text reading and online library and audio equipment for audio books.

My department provides funding for visiting teachers for children who are blind/visually impaired. The management of visiting teachers is the responsibility of the NCSE.

They offer longitudinal support to children, their families and schools from the time of referral through to the end of post-primary education.

Each VT is responsible for a particular region and is allocated a caseload of students. The VT supports children/young people, parents, guardians, teachers and other professionals involved with the child. The frequency and nature of support takes into account a range of factors based on the individual’s needs. In case of any technical issues with a student's assistive technology, it is recommended that the school contacts their visiting teacher from the NCSE's Visiting Teacher Service. The visiting teacher will collaborate with the provider to offer the necessary training and technical supports to both students and teachers.

My Department also provides annual funding the National Braille Production Centre (NBPC) to provide braille books to to support children who are blind in their education.

Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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483. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the special schools for children with disabilities currently operating in each county; the number of children currently enrolled in each; the number of children on waiting lists in each; the criteria for admission in each, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [14555/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.

In 2023, €2.6 billion was spent on special education and further progress will be made this year as an additional €113 million will be dedicated to providing supports for children with special educational needs.

This includes funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).

In 2024, the number of teaching and SNA posts in schools will increase with an additional 744 teachers and 1,216 SNAs added to deliver up to 2,700 new places for children with special educational needs. This will mean there will be over 41,500 qualified and committed people in schools focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

The NCSE has the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs.

Over the last number of years, my department and the NCSE have introduced a number of strategic initiatives to plan for and provide sufficient special class and special school places.

These initiatives are bearing fruit with almost 1,300 new special classes sanctioned and seven new special schools established over the last four years.

My department engage intensely with the NCSE in relation to the forward planning of new special classes and additional special school places. This forward planning work is well underway ahead of the 2024/25 school year. This work involves a detailed review of statistical data in relation to forecasting demand for special class places, an analysis of available school accommodation, consideration of improved data sharing arrangements and a particular focus on the provision of special classes at post-primary level.

As a result of this forward planning, two new special schools have been established for this current school year in Cork and Dublin, with further capacity being expanded in 11 other special schools.

In December 2023, I was happy to announce, the establishment of a further four new special schools for the 2024/25 school year in Meath, Kildare, Wexford and Limerick. This will bring to 11 the number of new special schools established in recent years.

Along with the two new special schools opening this school year, 390 new special classes – 254 at primary and 136 at post-primary level – have been sanctioned by the NCSE for opening this current school year.

The new special schools are being established under the patronage of the local Education and Training Boards (ETBs) – Limerick and Clare ETB, Louth and Meath ETB, Waterford and Wexford ETB and Kildare and Wicklow ETB. These are the first special schools being established under these ETBs.

Dedicated working groups comprising of department officials, the NCSE and ETB staff have been set up to support the establishment of each new special school. Each working group has already met on a number of occasions. The admission policies of three of the special schools have been published already and the admission policy of the remaining school is expected to be published shortly. Admission policies are available on the respective school's website.

The NCSE and my department will continue to actively consider the need for additional special school places across the country. While the preference is to expand provision in existing special schools to meet needs, my department is also open to considering the establishment of further new special schools if required. This is an ongoing process.

The table at the following link gives the details of all 134 special schools operating nationwide for the 2023/24 school year. As enrolments to individual schools are a matter for each board of management, waiting list figures are not held by my department.

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact the NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes. The local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available on the NCSE's website at: www.ncse.ie/regional-services-contact-list.

My department will continue to support the NCSE and schools through the provision of the necessary funding and capital investment to ensure all children are successful in accessing an education.